The charges place responsibility for the abuse of those children not just on Wehmeyer “but the archdiocese as well,” Choi told reporters as he announced the charges.

The six counts qualify as gross misdemeanors and could lead to fines against the archdiocese. Prosecutors “don’t have sufficient evidence” to charge any church official at this point, he added.

This appears to be only the second time an American archdiocese has been indicted as an institution amid clergy abuse allegations. In 2003, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was found guilty of failing to report clergy sexual abuse and was fined $10,000.